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2010 Annual Conference and General Assembly
from 05/10/2010 to 09/10/2010
Accra, Ghana
From October 5th to 9th, 2010, the Africa Microfinance Network (AFMIN) will organize its 9th Annual Conference on the theme "Access to Financial Services: Reaching the Poor and Excluded"....
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Microfinance Network Sustainability
Background
AFMIN organized a 2-day workshop on Network Sustainability Strategies during AFMIN’s Annual Conference, in Addis Ababa, December 2006. Participants discussed strategies for network sustainability in four main areas:- governance
- organizational capacity
- financial viability
- service provision.
Several network representatives discussed the subject of “network sustainability funds” as mechanisms for achieving financial viability. While the group did not agree on a definition of such a fund, the discussion included: network endowment funds, investment funds, and capacity building funds. Representatives from the networks in Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Benin organized a small group discussion on this topic.
Small group discussion summary:
- General agreement that networks should look into the establishment of such funds
- Important issues to be considered:
- Needs assessment and market research
- Determine minimum capital needs for a fund
- Sensitize members;
- establish member contributions to such a fund, etc.
- Involve several stakeholders (donors, government, investors)
- Determine fund structure, policies, and management structure
- Determine use of capital (support shortfalls in lending capital needs of members, contribute towards operational costs of network, etc)
Next steps
Representatives from several networks (Ghana, Zimbabwe, Benin, Malawi, Uganda, Mali, Gambia, Guinea and DRC) were interested in continuing the discussion in a virtual form, and SEEP agreed to host and facilitate this discussion. The goal of this working group discussion would be to identify different types of “funds” and roles that national microfinance associations can play, document existing experiences, and share the learning with the industry.
